有些英语词汇并非只有词典中可以查到的那几种含义。它们在以英语为母语的人们的头脑里会产生某种形象,这些形象又将根据他或她的生活经历有所变化,但基本特征是一致的。诗人弗吉尼亚·格雷厄姆一首诗的题目“Aunts”就是这一类可以产生形象的词一汇的最好范例。“aunts”一词在字典里的定义非常简单,即母亲或父亲的姐妹。但“aunt”一词,在许多以英语为母语的人们的脑海中会立刻产生一个有些古怪、徒劳无功、使人忍俊不禁的妇女形象。弗吉尼亚·格雷厄姆十分清楚,这首诗的标题是会使人们的大脑产生那样的女人形象的。她说:“哦,我知道,我知道 aunts Some English words are not the only ones that can be found in the dictionary. They produce some kind of image in the minds of native speakers of English that, in turn, will vary depending on his or her life experience, but the basic characteristics are the same. The poem “Aunts”, a poem by a poet of Virginia Graham, is the best example of a class of words that can produce an image. The definition of “aunts” in the dictionary is very simple, that is, the mother or father’s sister. But the word “aunt” immediately produces in the minds of many native English speakers a weird, futile, fruitful woman image. Virginia Graham is well aware that the title of this poem is to make that woman’s image of the human brain. She said: "Oh, I know, I know aunts